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May 7, 2010 in City
Former WSU quarterback receiving third degree this weekend
Washington State Universtity doctoral student Paul Mencke holds his son Paul Jr. and his wife, Bernadette, holds their newborn son, Carter, at WSU. Mencke will graduate from WSU on Saturday with a doctorate in cultural studies and social thought in education. Along the way, the Spokane native has Bachelor of Arts degrees in education and history and a master’s in business administration. Special to The Spokesman Review
(Full-size photo)
When Paul Mencke gets his doctorate Saturday at Washington State University, the Spokane native will breathe a sigh of relief.
During the past year, he and his wife, Bernadette, have both attended graduate school while she worked full time and he worked part-time. They have a 4-year-old and their second son, Carter, was born less than two weeks ago.
“It’s been challenging,” Mencke said. But the couple has been together since their junior year in high school and are best friends. “That helped.”
Mencke was chosen as one of WSU’s 14 standout students among 2,300 graduates walking during this weekend’s commencement ceremonies.
WSU and Gonzaga are the first of the area universities to celebrate their graduates, with ceremonies on Saturday and Sunday. Whitworth University’s graduations will take place May 15 and 16, while Eastern Washington University and Community Colleges of Spokane’s three institutions are planning June ceremonies.
WSU’s colleges were asked to nominate students whose stories they wanted to highlight during commencement ceremonies, said WSU spokeswoman Maria Ortega. Mencke was nominated by Dawn Shinew, an associate professor of teaching and learning at the College of Education.
This will be Mencke’s third commencement at WSU. This time, the former Cougar quarterback is getting a doctorate in cultural studies and social thought in education. In other words, the study of how inequalities impact a classroom.
“Most curriculums are set in a white, middle-class type of knowledge, so who does that leave out?” Mencke said.
The Lewis and Clark High School graduate said his dream job would be as “a professor teaching about race, class and gender within education.”
Menke, 33, first attended WSU in 1996. He completed a double major with degrees in history and education in 2000, but then decided to go for a master’s in business administration. Besides playing football, he played on the university’s basketball team in his senior year.
“When I talked about education, no one thought it was cool, to be honest,” he said. “So I went with what society thought was a good idea. Then when I went and did business, I realized that didn’t fit with my personality.”
Mencke used his business degree to sell medical supplies in Tacoma, but after four years he could no longer deny his passion for education.
His wife, who graduated from University High School in Spokane Valley, feels the same way. Her doctorate – she’s expected to graduate in December – is in higher education. Her dream job would be as a dean or president at a university.
Mencke isn’t sure where his family will land. “Life can be good wherever you are at,” he said. “You just have to make it good.”
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SugarShane on May 07 at 8:27 a.m.
“Life can be good wherever you are at,” he said. “You just have to make it good.”
BS, you have to have access to resources, which he obviously did. Must be nice to get a free ride.
alsharp on May 07 at 8:53 a.m.
I think it is nice to know there is someone who is trying to change the system from within higher education.
dtmelin on May 07 at 5:13 p.m.
there are people with literally NOTHING that would tell you life is good, ‘sugar shane’….. a free ride to college really has little to do with making the most out of your life.
Shazamm on May 08 at 7:27 p.m.
Ugh…sounds like he got a degree in cultural Marxism to me. What the heck does he mean when he says: “Most curriculums are set in a white, middle-class type of knowledge, so who does that leave out?” Since when is math and science “white middle-class knowledge”? Sounds more like he got hit in the helmet one too many times. I sure wouldn’t want him teaching my kids.
BarbChamberlain on May 10 at 2:09 p.m.
The city’s first university commencement of spring is missing from the list: Approximately 430 students of WSU Spokane celebrated Friday, May 7.
Ninety-five doctoral students graduated—93 Doctor of Pharmacy and the very first WSU PhD in Nursing graduates (program launched in 2007). We also had 101 master’s degree candidates and 236 bachelor’s candidates.
Many of our students—like the Pullman graduate featured here—juggled jobs and family responsibilities while attending school. We’re very proud of their accomplishments and look forward to the contributions we know they will make in the future.
For more on our commencement see http://bit.ly/8Ziosn. If you want to connect with us on Facebook see http://bit.ly/WSUSFB.
Barb Chamberlain
Director of Communications and Public Affairs
Washington State University Spokane
www.spokane.wsu.edu
www.facebook.com/WSUSpokane